Copyright on Music
Almost all music is protected by copyright. This means that the person who has created a song, lyrics, or melody has the exclusive right to determine how that music or text may be used.
The Copyright Act grants all songwriters, musicians, and composers exclusive rights to their music. In this way, their economic and moral interests can be protected and safeguarded.
Economic and Moral Rights
The exclusive right to decide when and how a song should be used gives rise to an economic right. For example, when a piece of music is performed publicly or recorded and copied, the creator has the right to compensation.
The exclusive right also includes a moral right. This means that the creator must be credited by name when the song is used, and the song must not be altered or exploited in a way that is degrading to the creator or used in an inappropriate context.
When someone uses your music without permission
The person who has created a song always determines by whom and when it may be used, known as the economic right. The moral right means that the creator of the song must be credited by name when it is played, and the creator must give permission for the context in which the song may be used.
Selling your music
You can sell your music to someone else who wishes to use it. In that case, it is important to draft a contract that clearly outlines how your music may be used. This is what copyright is about: you, as the creator, decide how someone else may use your music.
If you want to use someone’s song in your marketing, follow these steps:
- Contact the music publisher. You can often find out which one to contact online, or by getting in touch with STIM. If the song is not associated with a publisher, you should contact the creator (the person who wrote the song/lyrics).
- Draft a license agreement with the publisher/creator that describes the usage: where, how, when, and how extensively the music will be used.
- If you are not planning to record your own version of the song but want to use a specific recording, you may also need to draft an agreement with the record label that owns the rights to the recording. You can usually find out which label the artist is signed to online, or you can contact IFPI. If the song is self-released (i.e., by the artist performing the song), contact the artist directly.
- The creator and the artist always retain the moral rights under copyright law, and the publisher may need to ask them to approve the use of the song.
